Romans
The Romans 'have the Power of the Republic. They replace the Turks. Faction Bonuses *All siege units have +3 range and +3 Line-of-Sight *Receive 2 siege weapons for free whenever a new Siege Factory is built *Conquered cities assimilate 200% faster *Citizens 33% cheaper *Military research at the library is 33% cheaper Gameplay Description The Romans are a highly offensive faction and are one of the most potent available in The Hellenistic Era, with their bonuses reflecting best what the Romans were known for: sophistication in military engineering, mixed in with a penchant for brutal melee clashes and their extension of citizenship to conquered peoples, which definitely helped the Roman empire in real life stay as one in the long run. Their siege bonuses allow them to capture enemy cities and destroy enemy fortifications with much more ease. Furthermore, cities captured by the Romans assimilate twice as quickly and their citizens are cheaper, so they also have less trouble holding onto their territorial gains. Cheaper military research gives the Romans the opportunity to increase their population limit and reform their armies before their opponents. What really makes the Romans shine is their army. Their soldiers start off as hardly adequate, but they can drastically improve their army by researching reform techs. Once the second reform tech has been researched, the Romans have access to one of the greatest armies available. An infantry-centric force, they will dominate in melee, even capable of defeating the menacing pike-phalanxes of the Successor States. Apart from a somewhat weak starting army, the only other thing pulling the Romans down is their lack of unit diversity. Despite having a most impressive heavy infantry force, they lack effective light infantry or cavalry components. When the level 2 reforms are accessed, the Romans lose access to cheap light infantry altogether, hindering their ability to quickly pull together a force in times of crisis. Overall the Romans are a very capable faction, and although they start slow, once they have a fully-upgraded army, they are incredibly difficult to stop. If you are fighting against the Romans, the best game strategy is to rush them and take them out before they become too strong. The best counter against the Roman juggernaut would be to use light cavalry and light infantry to pull them apart from afar, while avoiding head-on assaults. Available Units :1 – Starting Units :2 – Requires Level 1 Reforms :3 – Requires Level 2 Reforms 'Small House *Rorarii 1 (Levy Spear Infantry) '– ''Upgrade to Velites *Leves 1 → Velites 2 '''(Levy Javelin Infantry) – Upgrade to Cohors Reformata *Accensi 1 (Levy Slingers) – Upgrade to Velites Barracks *Principes 1 → Principes Reformati 2 → Cohors Reformata 3 (Sword Infantry) *Triarii 1 → Triarii Reformati 2 (Spear Infantry) – Upgrade to Cohors Reformata *Hastati 1 → Hastati Reformati 2 → Cohors Iaculatores 3 (Javelin Infantry) Stable *Equites 1 → Equites Reformati 2 → Equites Alares 3 (Sword Cavalry) *Equites Speculatores 3 (Ranged Cavalry) Villa *Equites Extraordinarii 1' (Shock Cavalry) '– Upgrade to Cohors Evocata *Pedites Extraordinarii 1 → Cohors Evocata 3 (Elite Sword Infantry) *Antesignani 3 (Elite Spear Infantry) Meeting House *Equites Consulares 1 (Elite Shock Cavalry) Fort *Centurio 1 → Centurio Reformatus 2 → Centurio Marianus 3 (Officer Infantry) Outpost *Sabelli 1 – Become obsolete with 3, units upgrade to 3 equivalents *Pedites Gallorum 3 (Mercenary Spear Infantry) *Sagittarii Syrorum 3 (Mercenary Archers) Siege Workshop *Ballista 1 (Heavy Siege Engine) *Scorpio 1 (Light Siege Engine) *Aries 1 (Battering Ram) Dock *Liburna 1 (Light Ships) *Triremis 1 (Medium Ship) *Quinqueremis 1 (Heavy Ship) *Hexaremis 1 (Flagship) Unique Buildings *Major City *Castra History While the Roman Empire had been over for more then fifteen centuries, the vestiges of its empire in the form of religion, and the memories of its glorious past would continue to affect and inspire many great nations. While never regaining its former stature as a superpower, it would still eventually emerge as a center of culture and style in the present day. The Italian peninsula was first inhabited by what we would consider modern humans during the Bronze age around 1500 BC. These people were warlike nomadic herdsmen who displaced the previous Stone Age peoples to form what would be the numerous Italic tribes such as the Sabines, Umbrians, and Latins. Between 900 BC and 700 BC, Greek and Etruscan settlers also began to establish colonies along the Italian penninsula, who brought the seeds of civilisation into the area, with the Greeks primarily in the south and Etruscans mostly in the north. The Etruscans were believed to have originated from Asia Minor, and used an alphabet based on the Greek alphabet. Legend has it that they were refugees from the Trojan War. As the Etruscans developed into a series of city-states they came to dominate the various Italic tribes. They would influence the Romans greatly in the beginning. Early Struggles "Let them learn to be soldiers. Let them know, and teach their children."' — Livy' Rome according to legend was founded by a feral child called Romulus who along with his brother Remus was raised by a she-wolf. He had killed his brother to become Rome's first King, This colourful tale, while not based on much fact, points to the aggressiveness and ambition that would characterise the Roman Empire. From its founding in 753 BC along the Tiber river as a small village by a band of rustic Latins, they were on a 1,000-year road towards greatness due to Rome's proximity to a port and because of its fertile agricultural lands. At first Rome was ruled by a monarchy for the first 200 years of its existence, but they would eventually tire of being ruled by their Etruscan overlords and in 509 BC drove them out of Rome, forming a republic. Within the next 500 years, the Roman Republic managed to unify the entire Italian Peninsula under its reign. They would also go on to conquer much of the ancient Mediterranean superpowers. This period of Roman history saw great changes in the social and political order. The concept of Roman citizenship was established and ordinary people were able to achieve political power. However, this period was also wrought with conflicts. It began against other Latins and Greek colonists, with the unification of the Italian penninsula under Roman rule. They also had to defend themselves from Gallic invaders and the Carthaginian Empire. However, the Romans inevitably prevailed against all comers. From the Carthaginians, Rome's greatest enemy, they exacted the annihilation of this once powerful seafaring nation. From the Greeks, they would gain culture and science, indeed fluency in Greek was a sign of proper and upper class upbringing in Roman society. From the Egyptians, they gained the vast agricultural resources of the Nile, and naturally the lands of all these conquered peoples, indeed the people themselves as slaves for the Empire. The Romans would elect a dictator as they were called by the Romans, in times of need to defend Rome. The Sons of Mars and Jupiter Contrary to popular belief, the Romans' most famous military unit - the legion - was not a wholesale innovation, but was instead the results of the percolation of various experiences in war - especially the ones where the Romans did not fare so well. Actual evidence and accounts so far suggest that the first Romans fought as their Etruscan overlords did - who in turn copied the Greek style of fighting in phalanx formation, using equipment more or less similar to that used by the Greeks and those peoples who fell under the sway of Hellenic culture. Armies, however, were also recruited on a somewhat feudal basis, with only those with property obliged to take up arms. However, the increasing intensity of conflict and the weaknesses of the phalanx soon began to take its toll, and by the 1st century BC the Romans were obliged to look for a new means of organising their fighting men, which the legion proved to be. The legion was the basic unit of Imperial Rome's standing army, and fought in groups called maniples that formed a front that looked like a checker board. Each maniple was capable of rearranging themselves to form a variety of formations, like the tortoise, wedge or refuse (v-shaped) to deal with different situations. This organisation allowed the Romans to reinforce tiring troops with the offset maniples, yet presentating a continuous front to the enemy. It also had the advantage of being able to maneuver much more coherently and flexibly on the battlefield. The legionaires that was part of this army were career soldiers serving for a period of twenty years, and trained constantly in the art of warfare. A legion roughly consisted of 6000 men, each equipped with a short sword called the Gladius, a dagger, two pilums (a special form of a javelin) that could be used to hurl at the enemy or ward off cavalry. For defence, the legionaries wore a metal helmet and carried a large retangular shield that was slighly curved to surround the soldiers body. Behind this he wore either a kind of banded plate armour called the lorica segmentata, a chainmail jacket, or a jacket made of metal scales. The smallest sub-division of men consisted of 8 men accompanied by a pack horse, called a tent-group. Ten tent-groups formed a century, which each commanded by a non-commission officer called a Centurion. Six of centuries are grouped in three pairs to form a cohort. Ten cohorts would form a legion. Above these were officers of various rank, with a general command one or more legions for a specific campaign. The legionaires fought primarily as infantry. However, a complete legion would also be accompanied by cavalry, seige weapons, logistical and supply personel, and irregular auxilliary troops such as archers and slingers. However, Rome also had another weapon in its arsenal, and that was the idea of Rome itself, almost everyone wanted to be Roman for what it represented and what they could gain from it. The might and territory of Rome would continue to expand during the Imperial period, but it would also cause the Empire to be split into two, the Eastern and Western Roman Empire. This was caused by the large distances that defensive forces needed to secure due to Rome's large frontier, and because of re-emerging conflicts between Rome and its barbarian neighbors. Indeed, one of these barbarian peoples, the Germans, would inflict the greatest wounds ever to be suffered by the mighty Roman Empire, and would eventually bring the empire down and split it into two. Return to Monarchical Rule It was inevitable that ambitious Romans would seek to secure the position of dictator for themselves permanently. The first Emperor of Rome would be Gaius Octavius in 27 BC. He would usher in the period of Imperial Rome. Despite having been founded on democratic principles, Rome prior to Augustus had been ravaged by civil war, and was ready to accept peace at any cost. Nevertheless, Augustus' rule, while dictatorial, did indeed lend a semblance of stability and Rome even continued to prosper under his sway. However, with Augustus the old republic that had been founded almost five centuries ago had dwindled to little more than a legal fiction used to legitimise the rule of a military hereditary monarchy disguised as a democracy - indeed, Augustus did not choose the ancient title of rex or "king", but instead styled himself as princeps, "prince" and imperator or "emperor". However, although Rome had made great strides in conquest and influence at the advent of his career, it was not until the rule of Flavius Vespasian (69 AD–79 AD), inaugurating the Flavian dynasty, that Rome would begin reaching the peak of all power, which was achieved under the Antonine Emperors. However, by this time there were troubles ahead. Political chaos and a heavily slave-dependent economy eventually sapped the vitality and resilience of the Empire, even as it was buckling under the incursions of German tribes who had began to become restless again and looked to the Roman Empire for plunder and territory. Different emperors tried different solutions: Diocletian attempted to create a tetrarchy, where the empire would be ruled co-jointly by four emperors, but this only made things worse. Much later, the prevalence of Christianity within the Empire encouraged Constantine to subsequently issued the Edict of Milan, declaring Christianity as the official religion of the empire in an effort to maintain the unity of the Empire, but it was to no avail. In 476 AD Odovacar, the leader of a Germanic tribe called the Ostrogoths, marched into Rome and crowned himself the King of Rome, marking the formal end to Roman dominance in Western Europe. The Eastern part of the Empire which was still intact would continue to hang on for another 1,000 years after the fall of Rome until it was overcome by Muslim invaders in the 15th century. Category:Factions Category:Romans